scall

S1C3A1L1L1
UK/skɔːl/US/skɔl/US, cot caught merger/skɑl/

adjective

Mean; wretched.

OriginMiddle English scalle ← Old Norse skalli ← Proto-Germanic *skallô →
Scrabble 7
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Meanings

adjective
  1. Mean; wretched.
nounscall (countable and uncountable, plural scalls)

plural scalls

  1. countableuncountableA scurf or scabby disease, especially of the scalp.

    It is a dry scall, even a leprosy upon the head.

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Leviticus 13:30
  2. countableuncountablebusinessLoose ground.

Origin

  1. Proto-Germanic*skallô
  2. Old Norseskalli“bald heard, skull”
  3. Middle Englishscalle
  4. Englishscall

Inherited from Middle English scalle, assumed to stem from Old Norse skalli (“bald heard, skull”), from Proto-Germanic *skallô; compare Finnish kallo (“skull”). However, the later form scald, coincides with Old Norse *skolð, Old Swedish skoldh, skold, skol, Swedish skål, skoll, skolla, Danish skold, skolde, Norwegian skåld (“scurf, rash”).

More words from Middle English, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic

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Cite this entry
APA

scall. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scall

MLA

“scall.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scall. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scall,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scall.

Source: scall on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.